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Yingzi's Choice

Xiao Lei

PureInsight | December 2, 2009

[PureInsight.org] Since July 20, 1999, when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began its persecution of Falun Gong, all the detention centers in China have been filled with Falun Gong practitioners. Upon seeing the noble behavior of practitioners, prisoners came to know that Falun Gong is righteous and its practitioners are good people. They realize that televisions and newspapers all are making up rumors to defame Falun Gong practitioners. Prisoners in the female section for the most part do not go against Falun Gong and do not participate in the persecution. Some of them even want to learn the exercises. Prisoner supervisors will thus threaten that if they continue to do the exercises, they will receive double penalties and their sentences will be lengthened. Some prisoners expressed they would learn the exercises after they got out. Some still did the exercises in secret. However, a young woman, Yingzi, was very firm and insisted on doing the exercises.

Yingzi is medium-sized woman and has a particularly fair complexion. She is quiet and gives people a feeling of trustworthiness. Her home is in the countryside. Her husband has a temporary job away from home year round. They have a one year-old child. In order to support her family, she went to work for a restaurant in town. It is said that her imprisonment is a case of injustice. She is actually a victim of rape by the owner of the restaurant, but the shopkeeper's wife framed her for stealing. Thus, the rapist got off the hook and she, a victim, was sentenced to one year in prison. Because of the short prison term, she was imprisoned in the detention center instead of in a prison. When she was first sent to the detention center, she cried out her grievances all day long, and she had become the laughing stock of the whole prison. Later, she realized that those prison supervisors would not pay attention to her injustice and nobody would redress her grievance and help her resolve it. Thus, she kept quiet from that point on.

Yingzi saw that many Falun Gong practitioners in the detention center were young people. They didn’t make fun of her or avoid her. They were friendly and treated everyone with kindness. She was particularly close to a young female practitioner and learned the exercises from her. Early every morning, Falun Gong practitioners did the exercises together and Yingzi also joined them. Studying the Fa was a problem since there weren't any Dafa books. Practitioners from outside of the detention center sent in a mini-size Zhuan Falun along with the goods for daily use. Practitioners asked the kitchen staff to buy them a pen and paper with the cash that didn't get collected by prison supervisors. Everyone started to write out the text of Zhuan Falun. Some practitioners wrote down Teacher's articles that they had memorized. They gave those handwritten copies to other practitioners when they were let out for exercises or to relieve themselves. Practitioners were thus able to study the Fa. Practitioners usually studied the Fa together after dinner. Yingzi also joined them. She followed practitioners to do whatever they did and considered herself one of them. One day, Teacher helped to cleanse practitioners’ bodies. Yingzi’s body also expelled lots of black stuff. She felt that Dafa was extraordinary and miraculous. This made her firmer in Dafa cultivation.

Dafa practitioners did the exercises and studied the Fa openly. Many supervisors knew about it but turned a blind eye to it. The supervisor in the female section looked the other way as well. After a large number of Dafa practitioners were sent to the detention center, the benevolent righteous field of Dafa influenced the other prisoners. They have changed very subtly. Fighting and trouble making disappeared. The female section became very quiet, which saved a lot of trouble for the supervisor. Every time there was a routine inspection, the jailer would help them hide the Zhuan Falun and other texts. The female supervisor was very curious why the inspector couldn't find any Dafa texts, as she always saw practitioners reading them.

Once there was a large search, and the female section supervisor took away a handwritten Zhuan Falun. The supervisor thought of turning it over to the higher supervisor to earn some recognition. The practitioner who was in charge of taking care of the text went to the supervisor to ask for return of the text but failed. The female section practitioners thought that defending Dafa was their responsibility. They all went to the supervisor but still couldn't get the text back. It was then that they decided to fast in protest. Yingzi also joined them. After a few days, the supervisor became panicked. The affair alarmed the head of the detention center. He came in person to see what was going on and saw that Yingzi was also joining them to fast. He called her name out loud and asked her why she was fasting. Yingzi said, “I am willing to protect Dafa with my own life.” The head said with frustration, “If you continue to make trouble, you’ll see what I'll do to you.” Yingzi persisted with every one until the last moment. Although we didn't get our text back, it had frightened the head and the supervisors. They didn't bother us when we did the exercises or studied Fa from then on.

As the days went by, Yingzi’s prison term was nearing its end. She constantly thought in her mind about where she was going to find a copy of Zhuan Falun when she got out, as she wanted to continue her Dafa cultivation. The young practitioner who taught her the exercises told her that she had Zhuan Falun at home and that she could ask her husband for a copy when she got out.

Later, we were dispatched to other labor camps and had no information on Yingzi’s whereabouts. I think she will continue her Dafa cultivation steadfastly. Her mind has been awakened by the truth and knows the true meaning of life. In facing tests, as one makes solemn choices, he or she will be walking on a bright path all along the way.